John Miller: Overcoming addiction and homelessness in Dallas

The Men of Nehemiah provides homeless and formerly incarcerated men with housing, addiction treatment, counseling, job training, and other recovery services, all at no charge to the participants.

John Miller grew up in Highland Park. While he would describe his childhood as “charmed,” he also struggled to overcome severe social anxiety and depression. In High School, John fell in with the wrong crowd and turned to drugs and alcohol as a way to cope with the anxiety.

After several bouts with rehab, John ended up homeless on the streets of Dallas. He battled drug addiction, poverty, and homeless until he finally found an organization that offered real hope.

That hope came from a drug treatment community called the Men of Nehemiah. The Men of Nehemiah provides homeless and formerly incarcerated men with housing, addiction treatment, counseling, job training, and other recovery services, all at no charge to the participants.

After graduating from the program, John stayed on to work for the Men of Nehemiah. He also enrolled in classes at SMU, with the hopes of earning a Masters in Professional Counseling. John’s hope is to help other men climb out of the trap of poverty and addiction.

No one deserves to live in poverty.

Our vision is to be a church, empowered by the Holy Spirit that fights to reduce poverty in Dallas and around the world.

When it comes to poverty, Dallas has broken a few records we’d like to reverse. We have the highest child poverty rate among 10 of the largest U.S. cities, and our homeless rates are trending upward! There are more people living in poverty in Dallas today than there are people living in Plano.

But what could happen in Dallas and around the world if we joined forces with our partners to solve problems like unemployment, healthcare, and affordable housing? With our collective time, talent and treasure, we can fight poverty – and break records we’re proud of!